In sixth grade, my Catholic mother decided to spice up the Christmas season with an Advent wreath. For those of you who are unfamiliar, it’s a tradition that symbolizes the passage of the four weeks of Advent leading up to Christmas, with an additional candle lit each Sunday of the season.
And yes, I did just pull that explanation from Wikipedia.
Admittedly, I was most intrigued by the color of...

For most of fourth grade, I went to the nurse’s office at least three times a week with a “stomach ache.” The nurse’s remedy for such ailments was a large, chalky green mint that was supposed to settle your stomach.
In reality, I was a chubby 9-year-old who got straight A’s and just wanted an excuse to lie down for half an hour a day, take a break from academia and eat candy.
Looking back, I...

I know you are as shocked as I am at the behavior of our Congress before they left for their spring break recess. Just when you thought they could do nothing more to surprise us, to stop us in our tracks, to make us question all that we know and thought we understood about our legislative process, they do something crazy. They actually brought up, debated and voted on legislation! But wait, there...

I have notes—both personal and professional—scrawled in a smattering of notebooks, on loose sheets of paper and the occasional napkin or two with no discernible sense of order. Things are written sideways, in different colors, circled, starred. It’s very “A Beautiful Mind” meets an ugly mess.
Fortunately, I can use my profession as an excuse. “Can’t stop the flow of creativity!” Otherwise, I just...